Kaiser Permanente San Diego
EMpowerED Scholarship

The Emergency Medicine Residency program at Kaiser Permanente, San Diego is committed to supporting and enhancing a welcoming environment for Underrepresented Minorities in Medicine (URM). This includes but is not limited to students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, first in their family to go to college, first generation Americans, Dreamers, DACA recipients, LGBTQIA+ community, and those who are interested in diversity and inclusion. As part of this mission, we are offering a sponsored 4-week long Sub-Internship for Emergency Medicine applicants committed to providing culturally competent care to our diverse patient population and to inspire future generations of those underrepresented in medicine to pursue careers in health professions. 

Drs. Kevin Cabrera, DO, and Edgar Vega, MD, are two first-generation Latino emergency medicine resident physicians with a passion for increasing the minority student workforce in emergency medicine. Along with the KP EM Diversity and Inclusion committee, their passion for DEI initiatives is the muse for this scholarship.

Who Should Apply?

Given the vast diversity of patients within San Diego County, we are looking for a student who is passionate about providing care to patients from all cultural, religious, sexual, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds.

  • Open to all US allopathic and osteopathic students who are entering their graduating year of medical school and planning to match in Emergency Medicine.

  • Applicants must be in good academic standing with their institution. 

  • Students must demonstrate a prior commitment towards challenging the current norm of healthcare delivery for historically excluded communities. 

Why Should I Apply?

  • This scholarship will award one (1) rising fourth-year medical student with a guaranteed four week sub-internship rotation as timing available along with a $1000 scholarship to help offset the costs of completing a clerkship. 

  • The rotation fee will be waived and the student will be guaranteed an interview for the Kaiser Permanente San Diego Emergency Medicine residency program.

  • Dedicated mentorship throughout the sub-I and remainder of application season.

How do I apply?

  • The scholarship is closed for this year. The application cycle will re-open in January, 2025.

Application Requirement and Deadline

  • Application will only be considered final once VSLO material has been submitted / finalized. 

  • Applications will be due Friday, May 3rd 2024 and the applicant will be selected by the end of May 2024. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

  • For questions please email: kpemresidency@kp.org

***Since this is the 1st year of the scholarship and we are underway into sub-i application, we cannot guarantee 1st choice in the month you would like to rotate. We will work with you to try and find rotation dates that work.

At Kaiser Permanente San Diego, Department of Emergency Medicine, we are committed to seeing a growth in the diversity of physicians within the field of emergency medicine. This is another contribution to the workforce. We are excited to hear from you!